Vehicles of various kinds, including terrestrial, marine, and flying vehicles are well known in the art. Such vehicles are typically, and increasingly, equipped with a wide variety of electrically powered vehicular components. Such components can and do serve a wide range of purposes that range from mission-critical to mere convenience or comfort. Such electrically powered vehicular components, in turn, require a source of electric power.
Being mobile, a vehicle must typically carry its own on-board power source. In many cases this comprises one or more batteries that may, or may not, themselves be charged by a mechanical power plant (such as an internal combustion engine or the like) that exclusively serves such a purpose or that serves other purposes as well (such as providing motive force for the vehicle). This, in turn, requires the use of electrical conductors to couple the power source to the electrically powered vehicular components.
When the number of electrically powered vehicular components is relatively small, the distance separating such components from the power source relatively short, and weight comprises a negligible design concern, such prior art approaches can be relatively successful. In other application settings, however, numerous disadvantages present themselves. A modern aircraft, for example, provides a number of salient examples in this regard.
For example, a modern aircraft typically has a relatively large number of electrically powered vehicular components (many of which are important or critical to the safe operation of the aircraft). These numerous components are often widely distributed over the extent and girth of the aircraft. As a result, a significant quantity of electrically conductive material (such as copper wire) must be installed to couple these components to the aircraft's power source. This approach lends considerable additional weight to the aircraft. As the carrying-capacity of any aircraft is ultimately limited, such weight is always unhappily assumed at the expense of passenger or cargo bearing capacity, fuel carrying capacity, or the like.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.